Thanks to Paul for the puzzle – I especially liked 12ac, 25,24 and 26,20…
…and groaned when I recognised the pun for 15ac. JAMAICA is also the theme, referenced in many of the other clues and surfaces.
| ACROSS | ||
| 8 | KINGSTON |
More than one man mountain somewhere in 15 (8)
|
| definition: capital city of JAMAICA (15ac)
KINGS (more than one ‘man’=chess piece=king) + TON=a very large quantity=”mountain” |
||
| 9, 10 | OPERA STAR |
Love and prayer in 15 breaks through for Willard White, perhaps (5,4)
|
| definition + theme link: Willard White O (zero, “Love” in tennis); plus RASTA (Jamaican religion, “prayer in 15″) breaking into PER=”through” |
||
| 10 | OPERA STAR |
See 9
|
| 11 | MONTEGO BAY |
Python catches boa wandering by say, somewhere in 15 (7,3)
|
| definition: a city in JAMAICA (15ac)
MONTY (reference to Monty Python [wiki]), around both of: anagram/”wandering” of (boa)* after EG (e.g. = “say”) |
||
| 12 | TROPHY |
Hard left turns approaching end of rally – something for the winner? (6)
|
| reversal/”turns” of both: H (Hard) + PORT (left); plus end of [rall]-Y | ||
| 14 | WELL DONE |
Hats off, supply a wrap (4,4)
|
| WELL=”supply” as a noun, plus DONE (‘that’s done’ = ‘that’s a wrap’) | ||
| 15 | JAMAICA |
Was she not given a choice to speak for country? (7)
|
| sounds like (‘to speak’): ‘d’ya make her?’ = ‘did you make her?’ = “Was she not given a choice…?” | ||
| 17 | STREWTH |
Oath’s not a pretence, would Aussie say? (7)
|
| sounds, with an Australian accent (“would Aussie say”), like: ‘s truth = is truth =”not a pretence” | ||
| 20 | ACKEE AND SALTFISH |
See 26
|
| 22 | PATOIS |
Old man’s taken to island, 15 by the sound of it? (6)
|
| definition: reference to Jamaican PATOIS, which can be heard in 15ac JAMAICA
PA (father, “Old man”) + TO (from surface) + IS (island) |
||
| 23 | MATCHMAKER |
One struck by god, Cupid (10)
|
| MATCH (“One struck” as in striking a match to create a flame) + MAKER (“god” e.g. as in ‘meet your maker’) | ||
| 24 | USAIN BOLT |
See 25
|
| 25, 24 | USAIN BOLT |
Favourite from 15 in sprint past team featuring Gatlin, Gay etc? (5,4)
|
| definition: USAIN BOLT the sprinter from 15ac JAMAICA
IN (from surface) + BOLT=”sprint”, both after USA Gatlin and Gay were members of the USA sprint team, and often competed against Usain Bolt |
||
| 26, 20 | ACKEE AND SALTFISH |
A fantastic island chef takes dish from 15 (5,3,8)
|
| A (from surface) + anagram/”fantastic” of (island chef takes)* | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | LISTERIA |
Bacterium in rum real, is it? (8)
|
| “rum” as in ‘strange’ to indicate anagram of (real is it)* | ||
| 2 | AGAR |
Setter in a dress that’s short (4)
|
| definition: AGAR is used as a setting/gelling agent in cooking
A (from surface) + GAR-[b]=”dress” cut short |
||
| 3 | STUMPY |
Belly squeezed by fifth columnist in squat (6)
|
| TUM=”Belly” squeezed inside SPY=”fifth columnist” | ||
| 4 | UNKNOWN |
Nobody drunk now nobody drinks! (7)
|
| definition as in e.g. ‘a nobody’ = ‘an unknown’
“drinks”=’takes in’ to indicate UNKNOWN hidden inside [dr]-UNK NOW N-[obody] |
||
| 5 | COVERLET |
Activation of lever in bed to get warmer at night? (8)
|
| definition: “warmer” as a noun, something that makes you warm
anagram/”Activation” of (lever)*, in COT=”bed” |
||
| 6 | SECOND-BEST |
Inferior boss, decent after training (6-4)
|
| anagram/”after training” of (boss decent)* | ||
| 7 | GAWAIN |
Knight guzzling absinthe, originally on the wagon (6)
|
| definition: the name of a knight in Arthurian legend
original/first letters of G-[uzzling] A-[bsinthe]; plus WAIN=”wagon” |
||
| 13 | PLASTIC BAG |
Thing concluding film featuring final lightweight item (7,3)
|
| BAG=”Thing” (e.g. ‘that’s not my bag’ = ‘that’s not my thing’); after PIC (picture, “film”) around LAST=”final” | ||
| 16 | CHIPMUNK |
Rodent taking wodge around lunchtime? (8)
|
| CHUNK=”wodge”, around I PM = 1 P.M. = “lunchtime?” | ||
| 18 | TRIFLING |
Frivolous throw, cast and pitch? (8)
|
| “throw”, “catch”, and “pitch” are three words for ‘fling’, so TRI (prefix indicating three) + FLING | ||
| 19 | CHUKKAS |
Periods on horseback where British king into himself? (7)
|
| definition: periods of play in polo, played on horseback
UK=”British” + K (King); into CHAS (informal for ‘Charles’, name of the current king) |
||
| 21 | ABACUS |
Counter when a god denied church (6)
|
| A (from surface); plus BAC-[CH]-US=”god” minus CH for “church” | ||
| 22 | PERUKE |
Ralph snatches ‘er wig (6)
|
| “Ralph”=to vomit=PUKE, around ER (from surface) | ||
| 24 | BEEF |
Bellyache – something in 15’s patty? (4)
|
| definition: a ‘beef’ or ‘bellyache’ as in an argument or quarrel
second definition/reference to Jamaican BEEF patties |
Well, I actually finished a Paul and enjoyed it. Time to retire?
“I say, I say I say, my wife is off to the West Indies”
“Jamaica”?
“No, she went of her own accord”
Boom-boom.
Montego Bay by Bobby Bloom now likely to be today’s earworm.
Thanks to S&B
Although I have heard the “My wife went to the West Indies …… No she went of her own accord” joke many times, it took me a while to get the theme word. USAIN BOLT my favourite.
Great puzzle though my brain couldn’t quite deal with 18DN.
Thanks both. Re 17, I thought strewth derived from God’s Truth, adopted like many of these as an exclamation of surprise/vague swear word. I do recall strewth being prevalent on Neighbours so perhaps is a partiucuarly Aussie used word. Not sure I quite buy the Aussie way of saying it’s the truth.
This puzzle felt quite easy in the context of a Paul, but looking back through for a parsing check, it didn’t seem so straightforward. I did parse them all except being a bit hazy on the PLASTIC BAG. It was enjoyable too and I’m glad you agree Billy @1.
JAMAICA was an easy starter; a joke so dusty, I assume it’s approaching its quatercentenary; England (pre 1707) renamed the island in 1655.
In my cultural frame of reference, Willard Whyte, with a Y, is the beleaguered billionaire in Diamonds are Forever. It’s a high-brow/low-brow thing.
I liked CHIPMUNK, PERUKE, TRIFLING, MATCHMAKER and ABACUS among many others. It’s good to see Aussies on the website appreciating STREWTH.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Absolutely loved this and could blether on about it for ages. But won’t. Will just say that Bolt’s Jamaican 100m relay team beat the US team with Gay and Gatlin into 2nd place to obtain a WR in 2012. So the clue is athletically precise!
I think anyone playing Roz’s “guess the setter” game would have made short work of this 🙂
In checking whether Ralph was in Chambers I found it’s the name of a mischievous imp that plagues print houses – another school day. To me it’s always Ralph and Huey but I managed to bring up the answer from somewhere
I was feeling smug about getting ACKEE AND FISHTAIL until I realised a) it doesn’t exist and b) it doesn’t parse
Cheers P&M
Thanks Paul and manehi
Completed through sheer bloody-mindedness, but didn’t enjoy much – I liked MATCHMAKER, TROPHY, and PATOIS. Lots unparsed.
Posting to elaborate on PERUKE. RALPH is vomit as in “call for Hughey and Ralph on the big white telephone”, one of the euphemisms for vomiting introduced to Britain by Australians, such as Barry Humphries, writing as Bazza McKenzie in Private Eye. Others include “technicolour yawn” and “chunder on the wall-to-wall”.
My faves: JAMAICA (Whatever the homophonofussyists say), USAIN BOLT, PLASTIC BAG, WELL DONE,
STREWTH and TRIFLING.
I thought USAIN BOLT was a CAD (I think Fuddleduddy@7 says the same thing in other words).
Thanks Paul and manehi.
In the Scaffold album, Fresh Liver, they say
“I say, I say, I say. My wife’s gone to the West Indies.”
“Jamaica?”
“No, West Trinidad.”
Followed by laughter. Often wondered how many listeners missed the joke.
Djakarta?
No, she went by train.
The late Simon Hoggart gave us : My wife’s gone to the East Indies. Jakarta? No, she went by plane.
I actually spelt it STREUTH as that’s the way I remember seeing it, though it doesn’t make any difference in the grid of course. MONTEGO BAY was my way into the theme and then I recognised the old schoolboy joke. I confess I didn’t enjoy this as much as I usually enjoy Paul’s puzzles; the humour seemed less evident, but that could just be me. Needed google for ACKEE AND SALTFISH. Still not convinced by the definition of PATOIS, though the wordplay make the answer obvious. Did like CHUKKAS. Thanks to manehi and Paul.
“I say, I say I say, my wife is off to the East Indies”
“Jakarta”?
“No, she took the plane”
[“Willard White was an opera singer born in Jamaica” – Sir Willard is still alive.]
I enjoyed this, though it took me far longer than it should have done to see the hidden UNKNOWN. Fortunately I got Jamaica early on (with a pleased groan) after seeing ‘patty’, and everything went in reasonably steadily after that, though it also took a long time to remember that ‘ralph’ can mean vomit – I’ve only seen it once before in a crossword, I think, and never come across it otherwise. I particularly liked OPERA STAR, especially because I saw the great Willard White in Trevor Nunn’s brilliant production of Othello at the Young Vic – still the best production I’ve seen of the play.
Worth it for the wonderful USAIN BOLT alone. I managed to get the old joke early and all the clues referencing JAMAICA were fair, although I had to work out ACKEE AND SALTFISH from the fodder. I wonder if Paul was still thinking of the homophonic chuckers of vomit when he clued CHUKKAS. Most enjoyable.
Ta Paul & manehi.
I enjoyed this a lot, so thanks, Paul and manehi. I live in an area with a fairly large Jamaican community. Willard White used to be (and maybe still is) a local so OPERA STAR went in very quickly. ACKEE AND SALTFISH is fantastic, if you ever get the chance to try it, and all praise to Jamaica for turning something as bland and stodgy as a Cornish pastie into the spicy and delightful patty. [Barricades house against Truro-based mob.]
I had that slightly nervy couple of minutes where I couldn’t see a way in at all, and then 26/20 occurred to me out of nowhere, which meant everything was, if you’ll forgive me, irie. Enjoyed this one a lot.
It’s nice to solve a Paul where I got the linking word before any of the connected clues. Well it was an old schoolboy joke so my area of specialist knowledge.
Rather counterintuitively I think I was helped by not knowing much about JAMAICA as I had already thought about most the related answers which were, other than Willard White, even in my limited knowledge.
Thanks Paul and
Liked USAIN BOLT, UNKNOWN and CHUKKAHS
Thanks Paul and Manehi
Getting JAMAICA straight away really helped throughout the solve. I perhaps wouldn’t have got the anagram at 26,20 otherwise. Couldn’t quite parse the Bag part of PLASTIC BAG so many thanks for the clarity on that one, Manehi. The Arthurian knight was the last one to the (round) table today. Really enjoyed the Caribbean sunshine of Paul’s puzzle this morning…
Jamaican Independence Day 6 August, says my friend Ken
Bit of a mixed bag. BOLT and ACKEE very nice to lead to the theme, but NHO a PERUKE or Willard White. CHUKKAS, LISTERIA and CHIPMUNK all very good, but felt like there was too much eye-rolling elsewhere for my money.
Now we’ve all managed to stop laughing about Jamaica and Jakarta, two quibbles: can you really just write Python in a clue to mean Monty? We’re not talking about Tom Cruise here, there is no Monty in the group. It’d be like just putting ‘zeppelin’ in the clue to give ‘led’ or ‘house’ to prompt ‘bleak’. You can’t just put one half of a noun phrase in the clue to trigger the other half in the solution.
And for PATOIS doesn’t it need to be ‘of 15’ or ‘from 15’? You’d say Jamaican patois, not Jamaica patois, surely?
Some fun this morning with this. Loved USAIN BOLT and thought CHUKKAS was nicely constructed. Thanks to Paul and manehi.
“I say, I say, I say, my wife’s off to Malawi.”
“Lilongwe?”
“I’ll say – it’s about 5,000 miles.”
Boom boom.
Sorry, Tachi @24, I’ll get me coat.
Thanks for the blog , TRIFLING was very neat and a good anagram for the dish .
I think this confirms that the Paul household got their Christmas crackers very early this year .
Bodycheetah@8 , not playing this week but most regular setters are pretty easy to spot . An Azed clue for you , part of a double so will give both .
Mischievous spirit in river , sacred one , . . . (5)
. . . Which with us leaving river may create such a fiasco (6)
{ Azed ignores hyphens . }
At times this felt more like a GK puzzle and skip the parsing.
And @KVa #10, no homophonofussyists could be annoyed by that old chestnut.
Paul sets as MUDD for the FT , very different style and totally suitable for newer solvers if anybody wants to look today .
“My wife went to Italy”
“Genoa?”
“Of course I do, we’ve been married 30 years…”
Tachi@25: I think the definition for “patois” in 22 is just a little tangential, as it reads “Jamaica, by the sound of it”. You might argue that the very characteristic patois is the “sound of Jamaica”. Talking of tangential, while your point about “monty” and “python” is quite right I think that Paul does not play by the rules (which is why you love him or hate him). Or, perhaps, his rule is more “if I can set it so you can get it, that’s fair and Ximenes be damned”
I saw the first few clues referencing 15 and almost revealed all, as that kind of Paul I usually find impenetrable and unenjoyable.
But I decided to persevere, got Montego Bay then Jamaica, and finally prevailed, and really enjoyed it! Very happy to spot ACKEE AND SALTFISH straight away, a dish I cooked for a Caribbean themed Chri a few years back.
Couldn’t parse PLASTIC BAG and needed wordsearch for CHUKKAS but those are minor complaints.
Thanks Paul and Manehi
I have been away for a few weeks and this is my first Thursday puzzle after the break (Thursdays being the only weekday I can do the puzzle in the morning). I failed due to my lack of general knowledge. I did not know the Jamaica joke, and even when I had the solution and guessed it was a homophone, I still didn’t get it (and I don’t like it that much). I also still do not get the Jakarta joke. I did not know ralph=puke, chukka, streuth and how Aussies pronounce “is truth”, the sprinters Gatlin and Gay (I had heard of Usain Bolt), ackee and saltfish (would not be something I eat), bag=thing, etc. I only finished the puzzle with loads of help from google and by checking random letters. I liked chipmunk. Though I do not have anything against Paul, this was for me not a good first puzzle after a break….
My wife went to the Welsh borders.
Wye?
Search me.
I say, I say I say, my wife is off to the West Indies”
“Jamaica”?
“No, LEEWARD”
Thanks again Paul and Manehi. The usual head-scratching and slow start with a Paul and then the smiles as the solutions fell into place, together with some added knowledge. Thanks Manehi for the full parse of USAIN BOLT. Not familiar with Willard White or PERUKE as a word – although know the French. Hung-up on PLASTIC MAC/BAG for a while till the penny dropped.
#32 DUTCHGIRL – If you are indeed Dutch – congratulations on even attempting the strange ritual of English cryptic crosswords – let alone the Guardian and Paul in particular. This one, I felt, had marginally fewer and mostly less obscure references than his usual!
A pretty similar experience to Sarah@17: took forever to spot the well hidden UNKNOWN and I only know of the whole Ralph/Huey business from crosswords – I guess it’s mainly a lad thing?
KINGSTON was my way into an enjoyable theme (though there are Kingstons all over the world – the one upon Thames, where Saxon kings were once crowned on the King’s Stone, is nearest to me). Certainly easier than some of Paul’s previous geographical efforts, though I needed some assistance from Google with the members of the USA team. I missed bag=thing, so my tentative guess that the lightweight item might be an old-style PLASTIC MAC was wrong.
Thanks Paul and manehi.
Paul used RALPH for vomit in February last year. I was familiar with the term, but had never previously heard it outside of my small corner of Sussex.
Re. OPERA STAR
I think ‘prayer’ in the clue is best read as ‘one who prays’, since RASTA more usually refers to an adherent of the rastafarian religion, rather than the religion itself.
Thanks to Paul for the fun and groans, and to manehi.
Aye-aye@38
OPERA STAR
Agree with you on ‘prayer’.
Tachi@25
I think Python for Monty is more analogous to Rudge for Barnaby than House for Bleak.
Monty Python is not just a ‘noun phrase,’ it is the name of a fictional character, in fact the title character of the TV series.
I know the character never makes an appearance – but that’s not unknown in literature.
When my better half is going to a Women’s Institute meeting and announces that she’s off to the WI, it gives me the opportunity to ask “Did I make ya?”. Yes I know it doesn’t really make sense but it amuses me.
Tachi @24: in PATOIS, doesn’t “the sound of it” mean “the sound of Jamaica”, ie a sound or speech from Jamaica? That’s how I took it.
All good fun. Many thanks Paul and manehi.
You wouldn’t believe how many US disc-jockeys over the years have pronounced Zeppelin’s reggae-ish “D’yer Mak’er” as “Dire Maker”. Well, maybe you would.
Fun puzzle. Tx.
Dr. WhatsOn @42: yes I’ve heard it pronounced that way by people who obviously didn’t get the joke. I think it’s partly because the band chose a rather odd spelling — “D’ya Make ‘Er” would have been better.
This felt like a classic Paul, for better or worse according to taste. Once I got the keystone clue a few others were write-ins that I didn’t bother to parse. I knew Ralph for puke, but never heard of PERUKE, so that was a bung-and-shrug.
And I don’t understand PER for “through” in 9,10A. Can anybody help me out with an example?
Joseph @44, it’s a bit formal/old fashioned but you will see it used as an alternative to ‘via’ in things like ‘We sent your parcel per courier’.
nho the Jamaica joke.
Another onomatopoeic word for “puke” is “Buick.”
I think the parsing for USAIN BOLT with USA is too far-fetched.
manehi, the three synonyms for “fling” include “cast,” not “catch.”
The surface for 19dn is gibberish.
Chipmunks are adorable. Googling them doesn’t produce a link, so google them yourself, look at the cute photos and play the ch.ipmunk chirp in the upper left corner. Chipmunks are among the North American animals who have Native names, like moose, skunk and (surprisingly) woodchuck, anglicized “ochik.” The collective noun for chipmunks, says Google, is “scurry.”
Thanks, Paul and manehi.
Joseph@44 , Chambers93 has per = through as the original meaning , straight from Latin .
per fas et nefas = through right and wrong .
and words like permeate and perforate .
Valentine@46 Can you not imagine King Charles being excessively proud of his polo playing ability? In fact, given that the sport in England is one played by the entitled few, it’s almost an &lit.
Didn’t enjoy that, got half way and gave up as I could parse virtually none of the clues I had solved.
It was like doing the quick crossword, find the definition, fit the answer and use the check button.
Thanks both.
I remember Ian Carmichael and Richard Wattis using the JAMAICA gag in The Colditz Story, imitating Flanagan and Allan.
Roz @47 et al – isn’t FOR a more common synonym for PER in crosswordland?
So the RASTA “breaks through” PER?
Petert@46 That’s an amusing picture that the clue sort of suggests but it still needs a verb.
Yes Bodycheetah@51 PER=for here , I just read the post@47 without checking back on the clue .
Very good crossword. I really like Paul. Took me a while to get going but whipped through it once I’d got Jamaica. Never heard of peruke, but it was obvious that was the answer.
‘My wife’s off to the west coast of India on holiday.’
‘Goa?’
‘Mind your own business!’
Joseph@44, Roz@47 et al and Bodycheetah@51, Per is defined as “through; by means of” in the Collins online in American English usage.
[Martin@6 – I’ve posted my thanks for your advice as a late addition to 30,076]
A lovely puzzle from Paul – I found yesterday’s Omnibus trickier
Many thanks
Thanks Simon@56 , I am beginning to think the clue works both ways , when solving I had it the same as Bodycheetah but the other way is fine .
Tough but rewarding. I took a bit of time before Jamaica came to me and it went more easily after that. Like many others nho ackee and saltfish and had to google Jamaican food. All in all excellent.
Thanks to Paul and manehi for the many parsings I had difficulty with.
[WIlliam F P @57 My pleasure. I hope the foot recovers soon.]
Joseph@44: Per ardua ad astra — RAF motto
My wife’s going on holiday with her friends.
Do you know where?
Alaska.
I found this trickier than yesterday’s but more satisfying (not that I was complaining about that one).
I continue to find my brain is not just not on the same wavelength as this setter, but in a different spectrum entirely. Quite a few where I couldn’t parse even after revealling.
Would never have figured out that prayer = religion = rastafarianism = rasta (which I always understood to be an adherent of the religion, not an abbrevation of the religion itself)
Last week felt like my solving had progressed a lot, this week back to square one.
I finished a Paul! 😀
Having lived with a third-generation Jamaican helped here. PERUKE was new to me, but I’ve known Huey, Bill and Ralph for years. I was pleased with myself for working out the 1 pm in CHIPMUNK.
I also thought 11 ac was a terrible homophone.
Python wandering = Monty Go By.
My wife’s opening an artisanal food shop in India.
Deli?
No, Mumbai.
Paul@64 it is pray – er . A Rasta is someone who prays in Jamaica .
It has been a bit tougher , improvement is never linear , it goes in fits and starts .
Thanks Roz @67. That makes a lot of sense – clearly I misinterpreted ‘RASTA (Jamaican Religion – “prayer in 15”)’ in the blog.
These words like ‘prayer’, ‘flower’, ‘lower’ etc. will sink in eventually!
It’s Jamaica’s Independence Day today, in case you missed that. As well as being Hiroshima Day.
If a Jamaican offers to make you ackee and saltfish, accept with alacrity. It’s delicious, especially when served with fried plantain.
Very late coming to the party. Good stuff as usual from Mr H . Regarding the puns go back to Perry Como in the sixties with what did Delaware He goes through all the US states including Alaska. It’s very clever .
22D. as no one has mentioned it, the majority catholic element of one of the four countries composing the UK would strongly dispute that UK is synonymous with “british”. and indeed a long and bloody war has been fought to that effect.
frinton @71
Interesting point. Great Britain doesn’t include NI, so what is the name for an inhabitant of the UK that would be inclusive of NI?
Thanks for the puzzle and blog, good fun but a few clarifications needed. Defeated by chukkas despite having the chas and k elements; the polo period was in the back of my brain somewhere, but couldn’t dredge it up…
@ muffin – don’t think there is a good one. UK-resident and UK-national are correct. tbf british is not infrequently used a shorthand for UK nationality but typically in the context of englishers and also i don’t see how it can be right.
generally i let it slide except at work (i work with words) but in the context of a crossword language should be precise and accurate, innit.
I agree with most of your post @74, frinton. Not sure that crossword language has to be precise, though – it would be a bit restricting (though see my complaints yesterday – or day before? – about equating refute with deny!)
Late in the day but I would like to record my appreciation of 4 down in particular, a very neat riddle, among all the other fun, thanks Paul and of course manehi too.
I cannot diss a crossword that features Usain Bolt as an answer. My favourite athlete of all time. So well done Paul.
muffin passim: I think a new coinage is in order, one that’s euphonious and with no ethnic-historical baggage. I’d suggest Avelia/Avelian. Neutral, but the -ia ending resonates with Anglia, Cambria, Scotia, and Hibernia.
Paul and Mudd on the same day–thanks John!
This was hopeless for me. It would be quick to list the things I had heard of rather than the ones I hadn’t. I think I got two things before I started using the check button liberally. Very disheartening.
Regarding 24d, does BEEF=BELLYACHE to anyone? I’ve always heard bellyache as a verb, and beef as a noun.
The PLASTIC BAG surface also made me think of the famous scene in American Beauty by Sam Mendes.
https://youtu.be/Qssvnjj5Moo?is=KERVXhx7UohDIPKK
Late to the party (solution wasn’t here before bedtime last night) but I agree with SimpleS @5 – “Strewth” is more of an exclamation of surprise than a confirmation of correctness, and as such is more of a Strine-ification of God’s Truth.
Dr. Garbage @80: I haven’t heard the figurative “bellyache” as a noun either, but BEEF can be a verb, albeit probably rarer than the noun meaning ‘complaint’. Wiktionary quotes Wodehouse/Jeeves (1960) saying “I gathered from his manner that he had not come to beef about his sleeping accommodation.”
Mrs. E spotted the pun early on, which might otherwise have escaped me last night, so although the rest of the puzzle was reasonably OK for me, I’d have to rate this as sourdough toast crusts on my snack-related hardness scale between cheese puffs and pork scratchings.
Thanks one and all.
Oh excellent Paul and such a change from that wearisome Omnibus the day before. But we failed : my favourite clue was PLASTIC MAC – it just had to be right, Paul all over, except…
Finally completed a day late. A troll through the dictionary yielded my loi 19d CHUKKAS. I resisted CHAKRAS, which didn’t work but was tempting. Patience paid off this time
Lots of favourites. Maybe narrow down to 8a KINGSTON (my hometown, but Ontario), 11a MONTEGO BAY (MONTY Python), 14a WELL DONE (“supply” double bluff), 23 MATCHMAKER (2nd loi, concise), 1d LISTERIA (one of Cinderella’s stepsisters in our panto), 4d UNKNOWN (beautiful surface, well hidden), 13d PLASTIC BAG (convoluted wordplay)
Thanks both
After three broken nights my brain was in no fit state for a Paul yesterday, but I felt fresher today and started being able to see some of the loose stuff that he uses instead of definitions. I had ticks for MONTEGO BAY and TRIFLING, and question marks for PATOIS and the parsing of OPERA STAR (the singer was known, but ‘prayer’ =RASTA was still too much of a stretch for me). I was still looking at blanks in some of the downs, but writing them out on blank bits of yesterday’s Guardian enabled me to see GAWAIN and SECOND BEST. I had to use the same technique on UNKNOWN, so brilliantly was the answer disguised in the surface. STREWTH!
Thanks to Paul and Manehi.
Well done Mig@86 , patience is my only virtue . One day you might get promoted to the bright yellow square .
Liked this gentler Paul too. His puckish humour always gets me – even when he’s impossible. It’s easy to make something difficult. But to make it difficult and enjoyable – that’s a coup. There was a palpable joyousness in this composition.
Thanks both..
Roz@88 🙂
I had a different parsing for 18d TRIFLING:
“throw, cast” as a ‘we hear’ for throw – ‘tri’ as in ‘try’
and “pitch” as ‘fling’
But on reflection, and with the question mark, I’m happy that manehi’s is the correct parsing.
Fun solve – thanks to Paul and manehi
[ Is there a geographical component to the colour selection? Mig and I have the same coloured square, and we’re just two hours apart by car or train (Ottawa and 8a KINGSTON). Would we have to relocate to the Irish Sea to get the coveted yellow square? ]
I especially liked the hoary pun at 15a JAMAICA and the thrice-flung frivolity at 18d TRIFLING, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole puzzle.
Thanks Paul and manehi for the fun and much -needed parsing help.